1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910455595703321

Autore

Lenski Noel Emmanuel <1965->

Titolo

Failure of empire [[electronic resource] ] : Valens and the Roman state in the fourth century A.D. / / Noel Lenski

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, 2002

ISBN

0-520-92853-9

1-59734-610-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (478 p.)

Collana

Transformation of the Classical Heritage ; ; 34

Disciplina

949.5/9013

Soggetti

Electronic books.

Byzantine Empire History Valens, 364-378

Rome History Valentinian I, 364-375

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 403-442) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- List of illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Maps -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 The Pannonian Emperors -- Chapter 2 The Revolt of Procopius -- Chapter 3 Valens's First Gothic War -- Chapter 4 Valens and the Eastern Frontier -- Chapter 5 Religion under the Valentiniani -- Chapter 6 Administration and Finance under Valentinian and Valens -- Chapter 7 The Disaster at Adrianople -- Epilogue -- Appendix A Datable Evidence for Valentinianic Fortifications -- Appendix B Shapur's Administrative Structures in Armenia -- Appendix C Natural Disasters and the Reign of Valens -- Appendix D Civic Structures Built under Imperial Sponsorship, A.D. 364-378 -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Failure of Empire is the first comprehensive biography of the Roman emperor Valens and his troubled reign (a.d. 364-78). Valens will always be remembered for his spectacular defeat and death at the hands of the Goths in the Battle of Adrianople. This singular misfortune won him a front-row seat among history's great losers. By the time he was killed, his empire had been coming unglued for several years: the Goths had overrun the Balkans; Persians, Isaurians, and Saracens were threatening the east; the economy was in disarray; and pagans and Christians alike had been exiled, tortured, and executed in his religious



persecutions. Valens had not, however, entirely failed in his job as emperor. He was an admirable administrator, a committed defender of the frontiers, and a ruler who showed remarkable sympathy for the needs of his subjects. In lively style and rich detail, Lenski incorporates a broad range of new material, from archaeology to Gothic and Armenian sources, in a study that illuminates the social, cultural, religious, economic, administrative, and military complexities of Valens's realm. Failure of Empire offers a nuanced reconsideration of Valens the man and shows both how he applied his strengths to meet the expectations of his world and how he ultimately failed in his efforts to match limited capacities to limitless demands.